I frown. "And you thought going to her was a good idea?"
"She wasn’t always so. Once she was kind and wise and good. Seeing her people slaughtered must have changed her."
"What happened back there, when the room grew dark?"
He sighs. "You know of the four elements, yes? Riku, Wadu, Zyra, and Tauren. Most Fae tap into their power to cast spells. But there is another power. That of Darkness. That of the Midnight Star. It is life. It is death. It is the beginning and the end."
"Is that the power you use?"
He looks away, something lurking in his eyes. Shame, perhaps. "Long ago, before the Unraveling, I was a scholar of sorts. I studied at a library so great, there are none that even compare now. My colleagues and I developed a theory, a theory that the power of the Midnight Star can be accessed by others. Not only the chosen High Fae.
"It took years of research and experimentation, but finally we created a ritual. We spoke the incantations under a full moon, covered in the colors of night. And we saw it… the Darkness. But we could not control it. The power spread like a plague, killing all it touched. All but those who had called it forth.
"When I realized what was happening. I ran. I ran back home. To my family. My wife. And when I reached them. I saw their rotting bodies, covered in blackened flesh. I still remember my wife, reaching for me, pleading for me to save her. But I could do nothing."
He goes silent, and I can tell he will say no more.
"I’m sorry," I say, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.
"It was a long time ago," he says.
And then, we ride in silence.
I look to the fresh sky and watch the rising sun. The climate here, even the time of day, is so different from Avakiri. I try to lighten the mood. "So, since you decided not to sell me to the crazy Wild One, what next?"
He doesn’t face me. Just looks at the snow, lost in thought. "Don’t know. But there’s a storm coming. We need shelter." I wonder how he knows. I see no signs. "We’ll be there soon."
"There?"
He motions forward, and then I see it, in the distance.
A small village built from gray wood, surrounded by palisades. The houses little more than huts. When we ride in, a Fae woman with blue hair and dark gray robes greets us as she leans on her withered walking stick. "Tavian, so good to see you, my lad." She hugs him.
"And you, Madrid."
The woman, Madrid, turns to me. "And who is this—"
"That be Kayla Windhelm," says another Fae, walking up beside us. His hair is red, his short beard too, and he wears a leather vest made for fighting. "She’s the dead king’s bastard. Saw her once in Stonehill. Sorry girl, but we don’t need yer kind here."
Madrid places a hand on her companion. "Now Durk, be calm. Remember, we welcome all in this village. As long as they swear to bring no harm."
Tavian side eyes me, and I nod. "I swear."
"So do I," he says.
"Wonderful," says Madrid, smiling. "Now, follow me. The two of you look like you haven’t bathed in weeks."
She’s not quite wrong. I reek.
Durk mumbles and curses under his breath, but lets us pass as we travel through the village. Children play in the snow, building figures from sticks and singing songs about the Primal One. Women wash clothing in barrels of water. Men patch together a broken rooftop.
A horse neighs. In the center of the town. Something is wrong.
A woman yells as a giant black mare almost crushes her with its hooves. "What’s gotten into you, Mally?"
Mally, the mare, neighs again, still restless and wild.
I rush forward, then slow down, my hand forward. "Easy girl. Easy." I’ve done this before, when one of the horses pulling my cart got spooked, and it works now. Mally relaxes, letting me pet her head. "Good girl," I say. "What’s wrong, huh?"
"And who would you be?" asks the woman who seems to own Mally.
I ignore her and examine the horse. "Her shoe is shot. Where’s the blacksmith?"
"There is none," says Durk, catching up. "Died a few weeks past.
"Then where’s the forge?"
"Why, you have some skill?"
"Maybe."
Tavian laughs. "So you know of Kayla Windhelm, but not her skill at the forge?"
Durk grunts, and says nothing.
"Here," I say, passing the reigns to Tavian. "Watch her while I make a new shoe." He nods, and I find the forge. A shadow of what I had in Stonehill, but good enough. It takes me a while to make the horseshoe and a while to shoe the horse. Once I’m done, Mally is returned to the stable, and Madrid thanks me.
"No need," I say. "Something needed mending, and I mended it. That’s what I do."
"You have a kind heart," she says leading me into a wooden hut. There, in the center of a room, is a wooden bath. "I already heated the water. Take your time. And after, feel free to cool off in the lake outside."
I thank her and, after she leaves, I slip off my clothes and sink into the bath. By the Spirits, it feels good. I let the water relax and soothe my muscles, as I lean back my head and think of nothing but happiness. When the water begins to turn cold, I reluctantly leave the bath, then wrap myself in a white towel hanging on the well. I step outside the house, onto a porch overlooking the lake. I see Tavian there. And he’s…